League Endorses Tammany Together

League Endorses Tammany Together

The Northshore Conifer

May 7, 2007

By Sandra Slifer
President, League of Women Voters® of St. Tammany

A new non-profit corporation, Tammany Together, quietly filed Articles of Incorporation last month. Tammany Together was formed by a small group of St. Tammany citizens who have been meeting since November 2006. The citizens are from all over the parish: cities, rural areas, subdivisions, civic associations, and non-profit groups. Several League of Women Voters® of St. Tammany board members have attended these meetings, speaking out as League members, board members of homeowner associations, and residents of St. Tammany.

So, does St. Tammany need another organization? As President of the League in St. Tammany, I’ve asked myself this question many times. And I’ve always answered with a resounding YES! Now don’t get me wrong, I’m very proud of the work that the League does in St. Tammany. We’ll still be doing Candidate Forums and panel discussions; still asking public officials tough questions and making their answers available to the public. But the League is just one group and there’s only so much we can do and that is why the League’s board of directors voted to participate in Tammany Together as a coalition partner.

Tammany Together is reaching out to homeowner and civic associations, non-profit organizations, and individuals to come and be a part of a larger coalition. It’s time for ALL of the citizens of St. Tammany to be represented by an organization that is dedicated to making citizens equal partners with government and business in planning for the future of St. Tammany.

Tammany Together’s Mission is to identify issues of importance to the citizens of St. Tammany, educate our members and others on these issues, and to exert a positive influence on their outcome by speaking out with a unified voice. Sounds good, but what does it mean? During the past few months, we’ve had an opportunity to ask ourselves this question. We’ve talked with some of the founding members of another group of citizens who founded an organization a few years ago called Save St. Tammany. The warning we heard was to not spread ourselves too thin; you can’t be everything to everyone. Make sure you have both a financial and a time commitment from the groups you agree to help. Pick your battles carefully.

The question we’ve had to ask ourselves is how much time are we going to devote to putting out "forest fires" and how much time are we going to spend "planting trees" and growing a St. Tammany Parish that is a place we are all proud to call home. We’ve determined that we’ve got to do both without burning ourselves out (to continue with the tree/forest fire analogy).

A fifteen-member board of directors will govern Tammany Together. Citizens will form committees to study issues and report back to the board. Decision-making will be based on the study results. Tammany Together will hold quarterly membership meetings to insure that the board of directors and the members are in-sync.

Tammany Together will certainly be involved in the Comprehensive Parish-wide Rezoning. We’re seeing a lot of discussions in the news related to workforce housing in St. Tammany. Can St. Tammany provide workers with affordable housing as long as workers are forced to drive cars to work? (A recent AAA study determined that it costs $7,830 per year to operate a car.) Does St. Tammany need to provide some sort of public transportation system? Should the parish adopt a Master Plan to guide future development and the comprehensive re-zoning? Are our local taxes allocated properly? Are we funding the services that we need to support a growing population? Is too much of our money being spent in one area and not enough in others? We’ll be asking YOU to tell us what your concerns are and where we can make the biggest difference.

Tammany Together will be holding a press conference at the Parish Council Chambers at Koop Drive on Monday, May 7. We will present our new non-profit corporation to the media and begin to introduce ourselves to the larger community of St. Tammany citizens.

On Thursday, May 17, Tammany Together is holding an Informational Meeting at the Parish Council Chambers at Koop Drive at 6:30P.M. If you are an officer or director (or their designee) of a homeowner’s association, civic association, or non-profit organization based in St. Tammany Parish, please come and learn how Tammany Together makes each of us stronger and more relevant. If you are a citizen of St. Tammany who is frustrated with the direction or lack of direction in St. Tammany, come out and listen. Be a part of something that will make a difference in your life and the lives of your children.

For more information and to apply for membership, please visit Tammany Together's website at www.TammanyTogether.org.